A FRANTIC mother kicked down her bathroom door to save her 12-year-old daughter from drowning only to find she had already died, she told an inquest.

Faye Smith, 47, managed to get the door open in seconds after Gabrielle failed to respond to her knocks and calls.

But Mrs Smith told the inquest the youngster, known as Gabi to her friends, had already drowned in the bath by the time she got to her.

Gabrielle, of Ecclesall, Sheffield, had suffered a violent seizure the ­previous year, the inquest in the city heard. She was diagnosed with non-­epileptic attack disorder – which causes seizures and can lead to blacking out, collapsing and loss of bladder control.

Despite her condition, Mrs Smith was told there was no reason why her daughter, who dreamed of being a doctor, could not do things by herself, like take a bath and cross roads.

She told the inquest that on the night before the tragedy, Gabrielle’s best friend Rebecca had been at their house for a sleep-over.

On the morning of March 16 last year she was having a bath before meeting another friend.

Mrs Smith, who also has a son Zach, 16, said: “I was sitting with my son and having a cup of tea, then Rebecca knocked on my door and said: ‘Faye, Gabi has been in the bathroom for ages.’ Zach and I looked at each other. I jumped off the bed and ran into the corridor.

What Gabi loved was having her friends around her, especially her best friend

Faye Smith

I was shouting through the bathroom door: ‘Gabi, talk to me, I’m worried about you. I’m breaking this door down if you don’t talk to me.’

“I took several steps back and I kicked the door down in seconds.”

Mrs Smith, who runs a marketing consultancy in Sheffield, said Gabrielle’s moods had suffered following the death of her father. She died just days after the second anniversary of his death.

“She had said on several occasions she wanted to be with her dad again,” Mrs Smith said.

“But I explained that meant that she would be dead too and I said she was very much loved and adored, and if she died that would be two ­tragedies. But on that weekend she was bright and cheerful.

“What Gabi loved was having her friends around her, especially her best friend.”

Assistant Coroner Louise Slater recorded a narrative verdict that Gabrielle died as a result of ­drowning.